I ran a simple exercise where I placed a 50mmx50mm part on top of and in the center of a 100mmx100mm part (t=25mm for each part).
I then set up 2 studies:
- two faces were bonded;
- the edges (qty=4 edges) were bonded to one face of the other part.
Then I applied a load on one bonded edge (not a face) (the load was a point load SW didn't allow me to place a uniformaly distributed load or pressure on an edge) and discovered that:
- the VM stresses within the assembly were the same; and
- the stresses parallel to the direction of the load, in the assembly, were the same (say the load is in "Y", then then Y-normal stress/direction is parallel to the load).
Could anyone explain why this is the case? Definitely not what I expected, here's why:
First, I imagine that the face to face bond contact condition could represent glue - currently within in SW I don't think it does. I state this because when I ask SW to show the vector plot of the stress, it shows up on one edge only, not on the entire area - not what I would expect.
Further, the values of the normal stresses, according to SW vary depending on location - this I expect due to the nature of FEA and the solvers being employed; however, nowhere do I see 200,000N/(50mmx50mm) = 80MPa, the value that we are most likely to engineer the shear bond to resist
Second, if I can identify edges that can be bonded to a surface, then I would expect them to act as welds within SW and the results be reported appropriately so that I can then size the weld based on the appropriate throat size or have SW do it for me - QED - but not at all what I am seeing.
In summary, I would expect to see a difference between the results one sees for face vs edge bonding + I see them as representing 2 different real world applications
Comments, thoughts and feedback most welcome
hi drew, you posted the assembly but not the part files. if you use the pack and go to zip option it will grab everything.
can you post a picture of the stress you're seeing with the bonded face contact? i don't fully understand what you're expecting but with a bonded contact between 2 faces they are going to move together. the bond is perfect and unbreakable. so i don't know if i'd expect stress, but the deformation of the 2 plates bonded togheter should be less than if you applied the same pressure to either plate individually.
edge bonding, is it equivalent to an edge weld? probably not. is it close? from a simulation perspective, i'd say it is. the only way to get closer would be to model the weld. but then you have to start asking yourself about how you're going to model the heat affected zone, the penetration of the weld..etc. it get messy. remember the goal of simulation is to build less prototypes and better understand things at a conceptual level rather than absolute. if you want absolute answers, you can do it, it just takes a lot more time to setup.